Washing machine



May 29, 192s. l 1,671,637

' F. G. GIES WASHING MACHINE original Filed Nov. 2o, 1926 2 sneets-sney 1 @lf/ff@ 661, 7g www May 29, 192s. 1,671,637

F. G. GIES WASHING MACHINE Original Filed. Nov. 20, 1926 2 SheejfS-Sheet 2 jza. 77/j fsu i if f4 attenua Patented May 29, 19278.

FRANK e. ems, or nnrnoinmicmean, A PANY, or nnraorr, MICHIGAN,

WASHING lttrlg'ilial'application Bled November 20,

One of the primary objects of my invention is to provide a simple'andeilicient lubricating system for the various operating parts of the machine and particularly for the gear-` ing controlling the operation thereof.`

Other and further objects of my invention will be` apparent as the specification progresses, and it may be stated that my invention consists in the arrangement,combination and construction of the various parts of'r my improved device as described in the specification, claimed in my claim and shown inthe accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of my improved machine, parts being broken away to illustrate the agitator drive `contained therein.,

ig. 2 is a central sectional view of the driving connections, lubricatingsystem and change speed gearing utilized in my invention. i

I have shown a Washing machine compris ing a plurality of legs 5 supporting a base 6 on which is mounteda stationary tub 7 hav` ing a removable top 8. The bottom of the tub 7 is provided with a central opening or aperture 9'thru which the hub y10 of an agitator extends. The agitator is composed of abuse portion 11 and wing portions 12. A housing 13 `is secured `to the bottom of the tub 7 as at 14. A boss 15 `is provided in the bottom of the housing 13 and a holt 16 is extended from the agitator basell thru the hub and boss 15to a point outside the housing 13. A suitable bushing or bearing 17 is provided in the hub 10 and around the bolt 16. The head 18 of the bolt bears against the upper end of the bushing 17 and a nut 19 is provided on the lower end of the bolt, and is adapted to `be screwed thereon for rigidly securing the bolt in place. A lock Washer 2() is provided between the nut 19` and the boss 15. There is little or no possibility of water leaking thru the aperture in the boss but if it is desired, a sealing gasket may be placed either be* tween the washer 20 and boss 15 or between the boss 15 and bearing 17. Also, the bearing 17 may be made of self-lubricating material such as is commonly used in providing oilless bearings. l

Depending from the base 11 of the agita- 192s, serial No. 149,603. Divided 18127. Serial )70.185,128.

ssxenon ro otra SALES AND ysuavrcn coma conronATIoN oralement.

lucarne. i

tor is a pinl21 which is adapted to connect with a crank 22.

`The crank 22 is connected by a connecting rod` 23 to a crank 24 on the end of a shaft 25 shaft 25 is keyed gears 27 and? 28 within Extending in par housing 26 is the in the housing 26. The at its upper endto the the housing 29.

allel relation to the shaft shaft housing 30 which has on its upper end a housing 31 within which The fears the skhaft are positioned gears 32 and 33 meshlng with the gears 27 and 2S 32 and 33 are freely 34 within the housing 30. The

respectively. rotatable on lower end of the shaft 34 is provided with a Worm `gear 35,` mounted in the enlarged bottom housing 36` and connected by a worm with the motor shaft 37 on the electric motor` 38.

Y Lo a shifting collar `39 arm 40 connected shifting arm 42.

ngitudinally Slidable on theshaft 34 is which isV engaged by the thru the rod 41 with a The shift-ing collar 39 has connected therewith and keyed to the shaft 34,clutch members "43 an alternately engage and 46 respectively;

44 adapted to With the clutch members The clutch members 45 and 46am respectively integral with the i gears 32 and 33 so that when the clutch member 43 is enga the gear 32 wi gear` 32 will cause ed with the clutch member 45, l be driven and rotation of the rotation of the gear `27 and` shaft 25 at what may be termed high speed. On the other hand, when the clutch member 44 is engaged with the clutch member 46, the other tw o clutch members will be disengaged and the gear 33 Will be driven,

causing rotation of at What may be termed low the gear 28 and shaft 25 speed. In

Fig. l I have designated with the letters F,

N, and S l the respective positions of the shifting lever 42 for fast, neutral and slow speeds. VIt will be understood, of course, that the rota-tion of the tion of the crank the connecting rod agitator 11.

The water which 7 has access to the shaft 25 will cause rota- 24 and reciprocaton of 23, thereby oscillating the is containedin the tank housingf13, and in fact,

the tub and housing may be drained by means of a pipe 47 ing 13 and having valve 49. A cap connected with the housan outlet end 48 and a 50 is also screwed into and this application led April 90,

the housing 13 adjacent the outside end thereof for the purpose of providing access to the parts therein.

It will be understood that the driving connection for the agitator is entirely encased within the housing 13 so that no moving parts are extended thru the bottom of the housing 13 and a complete and absolute seal may be made around 'the stationary bolt 16 where lit emerges from the housing 13. The water in the tub 7 will not only lill the housing 13 but may enter the housing 26. to the same level as is present in the tub 7. There is no opportunity, however, for the water to leak from the housing 26, and it will be naturally drained therefrom when the tub is drained.

The shaft is provided, beneath the worm gear 35, with a cam 51 which is adapted to engage with a pin 52 slidable in the apertured boss 53 in the casing 36. A coil spring 54 is positioned beneath the pin 52 and a passage 55 communicates with the chamber housing the spring 54. A ball valve 56 is provided in the passage 55, the ball being normally held in seated position by a coil spring 57 held in place by an adjustable plug A passage 59 communicates with the passage 55 and is connected to a pipe 6() which leads up thru the housing 30 to a point directly above the gears 32 and 33. An oil pocket or chamber 61 is provided in the bot tom of the housing 36 and when the shaft 34 is rotated so that the shallow portion of the cam 51 contacts with the pin or plunger 52, the coil spring 54 will raise the plunger so as to uncover the passage 63, leading from the oil chamber, with the passage in the boss 53. Oil from the chamber 61 may thus pass thru the passage 63 and continued rotation of the shaft 34 to bring the high part of the cam 51 in contact with the plunger 52 will again force the plunger 52 downwardly and thereby force the oil which has gathered in the apertured Vboss thru the passage 55, past the ball check 56 and 58 screwed into the housing 36.'

out thru the passa 59 and pipe 60 to the gears 32 and 33. hus, the ears 32 and 33 will be thoroughly lubricated and excess oil will drip back along the housing y30 to the worm gear 35 and thence into the reservoir 61.

A housing 64 is provided above the housing 29 into which the upper end of the shaft 34 extends. The shaft 34 is clutched as at 65 to a shaft 66, which shaft upon rotation operates the wringer mechanism generally indicated at 70 and which need not be herein specifically described.

lt will be apparent from the foregoing that the objects of the invention are simply and eiciently accomplished and that various changes may be made in the arrangement, combination and construction of the various parts of my improved device without departing from the spirit of my invention and it is my intention to vcover b my claim such changes as may be reasonably included within the scope thereof.

It will be further apparent that the invention herein claimed is a division of my co-pending application, Serial No. 149,603, filed November 20, 1926:

v W hat I claim is:

A washing machine drive comprising a motor having a shaft extended therefrom, -a worm on said shaft, a second shaft extended at right angles to the motor shaft and having a worm gear meshing with said worm, a third shaft and gearing connecting it to the second shaft, an oil reservoir adjacent said worm and worm gear, a cam on the second shaft, a passage leading from the reservoir to the gearing connecting the second and third shafts, a. plunger' in said passage envaging at one end with said cam and adapte in certain positions of the cam to permit oil to flow from the reservoir into the passage and at other positions thereof to forcey the accumulated oil through the passage to the gearing connecting the second and third shafts.

. FRANK G. GIES. 

